The End of the Fantasy (Book #6 of the Sage Saga) (4 page)

“If I didn’t know any better,” Catherine said. “I would say you were flllllllllllirting.”

“Ew,” Marie said, and Zhou guffawed. Talia laughed and Zhou glared at her.

“Don’t laugh too hard. I’ll start teasing you about Oliver.”

“Oh, Oliver,” Marie said in a sing-song voice. “That stud of Talia’s.”

“It’s over,” she mumbled. “He’s kind of a wimp.”

“You didn’t think so at first,” he said. Talia shrugged her shoulders and took a big bite out of a piece of alka.

Catherine chuckled to herself and looked at them all. It was nice seeing them laughing with one another. Arimus and Ashalynn were leaning against one another, not saying anything but surely speaking in ways she couldn’t identify. Her mother still didn’t say much, even though many years had passed since they saved her from Thorn. She could only imagine the ordeal that she went through. Her own husband, just using her and imprisoning her like that. It was despicable, and she didn’t care to know just how horrible it had been. She never asked, she never would.

Sway was folding his hands together and meditating, as he tended to do when he was deep in thought. He didn’t say much either, but she didn’t question his loyalty. She stared at him for a moment, wondering when she would feel such peace. He lifted his head from his chest, and strangely, his dreadlocks stopped moving in mid-swing, as if it had hit up against an invisible wall. The dreads fell down and Catherine tried not to put an expression on her face. She slowly unsheathed her eidolon through the palm of her hand, letting the tip stick out from the middle—an old tactic of Achan’s.

She sensed nothing. But that didn’t mean nothing was there. She continued to search, digging as deeply as she could into her surroundings, breaking down the soil beneath her feet, the threads of her clothes, and the—

Something was there!

Catherine unsheathed her eidolon and lunged toward Sway, who seeing the motion, instinctively ducked out of the way. A Yama, nearly twice as tall as she, shimmered into view and dodged the blow, turning from the swing and running away at full sprint. Catherine pushed Sway to the side and gave chase, running as fast she could after it, even after it vanished from her sight by activating some kind of invisible cloak. Keeping her senses as sharp as possible, she followed after the energy “scent” of the Yama, paying no mind to the other Sages she left behind. Right before she hit Old Prattle’s entrance, an alarm sounded off in her head and she ducked without realizing why. A Yama appeared out of thin air, clawing at where her head used to be with long, sharp claws.

Catherine jumped back and held her multi-colored eidolon tight, pouring more energy into its blade. She didn’t know how the Yama had snuck up on them so easily, but she was eager to find out, and she wasn’t going to let the intruder go without a fight.

“Here to kill us?” she asked it, fully on guard. The Yama said nothing. He simply stood up straight, his thin body quivering with energy. He lifted one of his bone-thin arms, and pointed a finger out to his right. Catherine looked out of the corner of her eye and saw the enemy approaching in droves. She could hear the other Sages clamoring to their feet behind her, snapping to attention. Catherine sucked her teeth and kept her eyes on the Yama before her.

“What have we ever done to you?” she asked it. Its lips began to open, as if to tell her, but then it decided against it.
So,
Catherine thought,
there is a reason they are here.

“We’re not even a part of Allay,” she pleaded with it. “We’re off on our own. We’re not the ones you want.”

“Doesn’t matter,” a Yama said from her right. Again, she looked out the corner of her eye to identify the source. A Yama in a long, grey, Sage-like robe was standing on one of the snow covered mounds with folded hands. His large, goggle like eyes were filled with contempt. Arimus and the other Sages took out their eidolons and prepared for battle, though each of them were filled with apprehension. Were they the legendary Yama, or could it all be a trick orchestrated by Orchid?

“What are you talking about?” Catherine shouted. “Why wouldn’t it matter? Unless you are working with Orchid…how do I even know you’re real? You could be an illusion.”

“I assure you that we are real.”

“That doesn’t mean you are.”

“Orchid is dead,” the Yama replied flatly, and Catherine felt her palms beginning to sweat.

“Why? How?” she asked. The Yama made a gesture toward the warrior standing in front of her, and he backed away. Once he was out of striking range, he leapt to the talking Yama’s side. Catherine turned to face the speaker head on.

“One of my most trusted men killed her himself,” the Yama said calmly. “It was quick. Easy. The same as it will be with you.”

“Why threaten us?” Catherine asked. “We’ve done nothing to you. This is Lakrymos’ and Orchid’s crusade. Not ours. I would have sought peace.”

“And now? Do you still seek peace?”

“I do.”

“It is unfortunate that you have nothing to offer me for it.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Considering that we are the superior entity, there must be something that will benefit us. You have nothing to offer but broken and lost Sages. And a handful at that.”

“That doesn’t mean we have to fight.”

“If you were still the Queen of Allay, we could have a meaningful conversation. But you lost your throne to a couple of dead warriors. Hardly impressive.”

“And now you’ve come here to kill us…but why? What do you gain from this?”

“More than you know,” the Yama replied. “But I am not ruthless. Give me something that will gain you a little more time and I will entertain a temporary reprieve. You have sixty seconds starting now.”

“I—” Catherine stopped and sighed as no valid reasons came to mind. What did she have indeed? They were a very small band and even now, they were exhausted. She had no power, and no more allies. She had lost their greatest warrior—James, and Bastion was nowhere to be found. There was nothing to barter with. Nothing to say.

She looked over at her family and friends, and her eyes grew weary when she saw their faces. They were gripping the hilts of their eidolons tight, waiting for her order to make a move, but even from where she stood, she could see them breathing heavily, perspiring, sighing, and longing for rest. They were supposed to start a new life together. How could it end before it even began?

She looked at each of them one by one, assessing, calculating and making a decision that made her stomach feel sick. Her eyes stayed on Arimus, and his gaze met hers. She nodded very slightly, and he smiled. He got her silent message.

Catherine turned back to the Yama.

“I have nothing more to say to you at the moment,” she sighed. “Perhaps when I am in a greater position of power, we can negotiate or reach an understanding then.”

“There is no next time,” he replied. “We are here to kill you.”

“Yeah,” she scoffed. “I’ve heard that before.”

Catherine shouted out into the air, a rallying war cry that cut through the atmosphere, and suddenly, a mighty wind began to rock the mountain, surrounding the old city of Prattle in an intimidating tornado. Yama began flying off the mountain, and Catherine kept herself stable, the blade of her eidolon slammed into the brick courtyard floor. Arimus moved his limp arm toward the advancing Yama army, and the tornado turned into a wave, crashing into their enemy as if they were a rock wall. The Yama were knocked off their feet, and Catherine began running.

“The tunnels!” she shouted. “Now!”

“We’ll be trapped,” Marie said as Catherine passed by her. All except Arimus began running toward the tunnel entrance behind the ruined Prattlian castle.

“We’ll have a greater advantage down there,” Catherine yelled. “They can’t send their whole army in after us. The space is too tight.”

“That goes for us as well,” Sway said. “The tunnels will restrict us too.”

“Not as much as they,” Catherine retorted. “Now all of us, head there now!” Her mother, Ashalynn, grabbed her arm as they ran. The movement was so surprising that Catherine stopped in her tracks. She looked into her mother’s tear-filled eyes, and she knew the question before it was even asked.

“What about Arimus?” she asked her daughter, her voice so low under the roaring of the winds that Catherine almost didn’t hear it.

“I’m sorry,” Catherine whispered, her lips trembling. Ashalynn released her grip from her daughter and immediately turned back toward the Yama army. Catherine grabbed her shoulder.

“NO!” Catherine shouted. “We have to let him go! We have to!”

“He is my all,” her mother said, turning to face her with fierce eyes. The scowl she gave her daughter was so terrifying that Catherine let go of her. “If he dies, then so do I.”

“I—,” Catherine began, but her mother leaped into her arms and gave her a hug of inhumane strength. It was so tight that Catherine could barely breathe, and when it was over, she longed to feel that warmth again. Ashalynn brushed the back of her hand against her daughter’s cheek.

“Go now,” she said softly. “I am proud of you.”

And before Catherine could reply, she was already gone, having ran away to be with her husband. Catherine grit her teeth and willed herself to turn around and keep on running. As much as it hurt, she fought the urge to look back. She had made her decision. She would have to live with it.

She hadn’t wanted to send Arimus, but she had no choice. He was the oldest, and he had lost his arms. Not to mention that he had long taken a background role when it came to battle. Though he had never said it, Catherine knew that he was done fighting. He had his Ashalynn now, and while it was sweet and wonderful to see, it had also removed any desire for violence and conflict from his heart.

He was a more loving and endearing Arimus. But he was also useless to her now. She needed raw strength and talent. Marie, Sway, Daisy, Talia and Zhou…they were all so valuable, and though she didn’t want to think of her father in a negative light, she knew that he was proud of her for doing so.

The thought hurt.

Catherine fought back tears as she leapt down the hole in the ground, figuring that the others were already inside. Marie would have known the way. As Catherine stumbled along the dirt floor after her landing, Sway and Zhou moved quickly to close the gap, but Talia had a more permanent approach. With a swing of her eidolon, she sliced at the roof just in front of the hole’s entrance, bringing down the tunnel in front of them in a pile of rocks, dirt clouds and debris. As they coughed and shut their eyes, Marie pried open the King’s chamber, leading into the room where Catherine, her Sages, and Tyuin had talked about Thorn in great detail.

They piled into the room and closed the door behind them, but Catherine was already trying to speak through her burning throat.

“We can’t stay here,” she said, rubbing her eyes with her sleeve. “We have to keep moving. Arimus will only buy us a little bit of time.”

“And where do we go?” Marie asked. “Not Languor I hope.”

“We’ll figure it out as we go. All I know is that we have to move.”

It was a surreal feeling to think that death may be upon him. He thought he had first heard it whisper sweet nothings into his ear when he left Allay years ago. Upon arriving to Languor, there was nothing more terrifying than meeting an army of the enemy while declaring your name for all to hear.

Arimus.

Arimus grunted as he fought the fatigue that crawled up his legs and rubbed against his muscles. With another surge of energy flowing through his veins, he unleashed another wall of wind at the invading Yama army, sending them flying into the air, or off the mountain. He didn’t dare transform into his Sage form. He needed to preserve at much energy as he could for there was no questioning what his role now was: distraction.

The second time he thought death was upon him was after he saved Catherine’s life. Funny enough, he was there to kill the young Princess, but she had changed his mind. In a fit of betrayal, he turned on his own men, and in turn, secured his place firmly in Allay. Still, he had taken a considerable amount of wounds at the time. He was sure it would be his end, but once again, he eluded death, waking to the soft whisper of his daughter’s lips.

Arimus.

He could hear the Yama army beginning to head down the mountain. No doubt to chase after Catherine and the others. That would not do.

A hand grabbed his sleeve and his eyes widened in alarm. He raised his mangled arm to strike his attacker, but then he saw who had grasped him. His wife and one true love. His Ashalynn, coming to die by his side.

He said nothing. He didn’t question her or told her to leave. To be honest, he was grateful she was there, as selfish as the notion was. And to be even more objective, she would have only held the Sages back. She was no warrior. There was not an ounce of violence in her body.

And yet…he saw a fury in her eyes. One that he had not seen since the day he had gazed upon her as one of the castle’s guards. Perhaps it was because she had no reason to. Or maybe Thorn had kindled the flame within her soul. It didn’t matter. He welcomed it now, and despite the circumstances, he found it quite sexy to behold.

She reached toward his hip and pulled out his standard-issued sword. A blade that would surely be useless against Yama hide, but a weapon nonetheless. Arimus smiled and nodded. She would do what she could.

So would he.

Arimus used a burst of wind to propel them off their feet, and over the ruined houses around them, landing on the other side of the mountain, where the path led down to the flatlands and where the Conun house used to be. The Yama were indeed heading down, and they continued running at them as they landed on their feet. He smiled and stuck out the palm of his deformed hand toward the incoming army. A tornado burst from his hand and pushed all that were in front of him off the mountain. He wasn’t sure if it would kill them, but it would certainly hurt.

As it once did to the Quietus, when he was in the middle of his third brush with death. A suicide mission that was made worse from Dominic’s bumbling. He had lost count over how many Quietus he had killed. He just kept cutting, and back then he was much more formidable, having two very capable hands. He had lost that day, but still, he survived. Scarlet had made sure of that.

“ARIMUS!” Ashalynn shouted as a Yama soldier sprinted through the winds and came upon him. His deformed hand wouldn’t be able to move like it once had, but that didn’t mean he was defenseless. He took a step back, and summoned his eidolon.

It flew out of his chest and at the approaching Yama, slamming into it and sending him crashing into his fellow soldiers. The eidolon vanished from the Yama’s chest and Arimus felt it return to his body. He winced. It was not a move he could do often, as it took out too much energy, and he had already wasted so much summoning the winds to his aid. He could feel his body beginning to wane, getting to the point in which he would soon have little control. His body would collapse. It wasn’t a matter of will. It was basic science.

Still, he had heart, and that was going to take him further than the Yama would think possible.

Just like when he fought Thorn.

Missing one arm and having already fought for days, one would think that he would go unconscious and not wake up just out of sheer exhaustion, but he had never been more fired up. He had just found Ashalynn, long thought dead. His love. His wife. His purpose. He had found her in the clutches of Thorn, and he was going to make it his personal mission to rip off each one of his lying, filthy, egotistical fingers. He had survived that ordeal, and he was able to unleash the final blow on his enemy.

“Arimus!” one of the Yama shouted, the same Yama that had spoken to Catherine earlier. He didn’t have the aura of a fighter, and he noticed that the speaking Yama still showed no signs of entering the fray.

“No talk,” Arimus grunted as the Yama army began surrounding him, straying off far to the side so that they could take him from behind. He kept backing away so that they couldn’t close the gap, but he knew it was a silly notion. They would force him back until he reached the mountain’s bottom if he let them. With a roar, Arimus sent a wind to sweep them off the rock face and back into their ranks.

“Arimus, stop!” the Yama shouted at him. “This is foolishness. You will die!”

“I know,” Arimus muttered. He heard a cry from behind him, and he turned to look.

A mistake.

The Yama were ruthless in their momentary advantage. Before he could fully turn his head to see what had happened to Ashalynn, they were right in front of him, stabbing at his chest and ribs, cutting him at the thighs and shins. With a cry his legs lost control, and he fell on his face in the dirty snow. He heard another cry coming from behind him, but he couldn’t lift his head to see. The one arm he did have didn’t have the strength, and certainly not with how tired he felt.

But that didn’t mean it was over.

Even against Bastion, by far the most powerful being he had ever witnessed in action…even he had not killed him. He had lived to see another day…another day with his sweetheart. Death had fled once more, and by then, it had fled so often that he wasn’t even sure if death would ever come. He had unintentionally gotten used to escape. He was a master now, one that—

“ARI—” a cry pierced his ears, a sickening fleshy sound followed, and then silence. Arimus fidgeted where he laid, his eyes darting back and forth as he waited for someone, anyone, to make a sound, but it was as if the entire Yama army had disappeared. He couldn’t bear not knowing what had happened.

And then, as if answering his wish, Ashalynn’s body dropped down next to him, facing him.

Her eyes were grey, and her countenance was still.

Arimus didn’t weep, for he was too much in shock. Her blood seeped from the wound in her neck and reached him, staining his clothes and wetting his skin. He forgot where he was. And it was the best thing to happen to him at the moment. For he couldn’t bear to think on the loss of his love. He could only stave off the grief until he was greeted with a similar fate. It was all he waited for now.

He prayed for death.

“Arimus,” the only speaking Yama said. Arimus barely heard the words. No. No. No.

No talk. No conversations. If he started speaking, he knew where his thoughts would head. He had been there before. He wouldn’t go again.

“I’m sorry it came to this,” the Yama said. Again, no response. The Yama sighed. “I won’t let you suffer. I admire your spirit.” A shuffle of the feet was heard, and then: “Yes, I think that will be best,” the Yama said, talking to someone unknown. “Yes, process him…no, don’t delay. Let him go with his family.”

Arimus closed his eyes as a great deal of pressure was suddenly applied to the back of his neck.

*              *              *

Lily rubbed her hands together. “Oh my goodness, you are so going to get this.”

Bastion circled her as she stood in the middle of the Quietus crater, waiting for her to make a move, their feet kicking up dust and creating a cloud.

“You’ve said that already,” he replied. “Doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”

“You don’t even
know
,” she said, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

“Well, don’t come crying if you get hurt.”

“Same for you. I’m not your Mommy. Even if I might spank you like one.”

“I don’t have a mother,” Bastion sighed, and all Lily did was smile.

“Did that hurt? Huh? Did that hurt, orphan?”

“You don’t have parents either,” he retorted.

“Oh, no you didn’t just say that,” Lily said. Then she disappeared from Bastion’s view.
Okay, that was fast!
Bastion began summoning his Sage robe to cover his body, but he was already flying forward before it could appear. The sudden realization that his feet were now off the ground threw him off guard. He hadn’t even felt Lily’s attack. He forced his feet to stretch out in front of him and he landed on his soles, nearly stumbling forward once they hit solidarity.

A hard punch to the face sent him reeling backwards. Lily appeared suddenly at the end of it with her jaw set tight. Without letting up, she grabbed his shirt collar, pulled him forward, and then punched him hard again, this time sending to her right. Bastion’s eyes fluttered, but he caught himself and Lily’s next fist as well. He smiled and squeezed it hard, but she showed no signs of pain. Instead she kicked him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He winced and shot up to a standing position, slamming the crown of his head into the bottom of her chin. Lily went reeling backwards, and it was all he needed to take the advantage.

He donned his black Sage robe, and unsheathed his Gladius eidolon. He stabbed her in the stomach and her mouth gave out an “oof” sound. He twisted the blade, but not too tight. He didn’t want to hurt her. But for some reason, she allowed it. She went on the offensive, punching him across the face back and forth so fast that he didn’t even realize at first that it was happening.

It was like the pain came all out at once, and his hand went up to caress his cheeks. Lily kicked off his stomach, freeing herself from the eidolon’s blade. Her wounds healed up in a second and she was back on him again, punching him so hard that his body was beginning to lose its density. He could feel his arms and legs wobbling, his mind getting fuzzy.

“That’s enough!” he screamed, but she simply hit him again. He stumbled backwards. He got hit again, and again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.

And then he lost himself.

With his eyes going black, he instinctively caught Lily’s fist and then pulled her toward him, lifting her off her feet. Lily kicked him in the chest with both feet, but he didn’t feel a thing. He slashed across her abdomen with his Gladius and then let go. She fell on her butt and tried to roll back onto her feet, but he slashed at her again, and this time, a chunk of her hand fell off into the dirt.

He attacked her quickly, slashing at her so fast that she could only block half of the blows, and once she saw that he nicked the side of her dress, she scowled and lunged at him through the flurry of blows. Taking several cuts, she grabbed his throat and began squeezing, even while he continued his assault. After a few seconds, his eyes began to gain some luster, and after a few more seconds passed, his vision returned. With a widened gaze, he stopped slashing and instead took his blade and slammed its edge down onto her forearm. It didn’t split it in two, but it did crack it.

Lily punched him in the face again and he slammed the blade down again, cutting through her arm. He staggered back and started coughing, now free from her grip.

“Geez,” he gagged, rubbing his throat. “You’re strong.”

“Told you,” she said, looking at the stump at the end of her elbow. She was already beginning to grow a new arm. Bastion watched in curiosity as the severed limb at her feet turned into liquid and flowed across the ground to her foot. With a sucking sound, it merged with the sole of her foot, and then the substance wasn’t seen again. Bastion raised an eyebrow.

“That was creepy,” he said.

“So were your soulless eyes,” she said. Bastion noted that she was upset.

“Are you okay?” he asked. She shook her head. Bastion didn’t take that for an answer. He stepped toward her and put his hands on her arms. “Come on. Tell me.”

“You’re stronger,” she said low. Then she looked directly into his eyes. “But you’re also squishy.”

“What?” Bastion scoffed, letting her go. “What do you mean?”

“I wanted to be stronger than you,” she huffed.

“No, not that. The other thing. What was that whole squishy thing?”

“I don’t feel like you do, at least not when it comes to contact with my skin. Every time you cut me, and even when you took off my arm…it didn’t hurt one bit. That’s my advantage over you…but you’re still stronger than me.”

“But that means you would beat me in the end, wouldn’t it?”

“Depends,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I think that if you came at me from the beginning with all your power, I would probably be killed.”

“You really felt nothing?”

“Not a thing,” she said, rubbing her shoulder.

“So when we…when we kissed earlier? You didn’t feel anything?”